Cyberpunk 2077 has been one of the most highly anticipated games of the year and many were upset when the title was delayed. While there has been no concrete reason to why the game has been delayed, the internet has been quick to guess at what the issue may be. There has now been word from inside the developer, CD Projekt Red, and the reasoning behind the delay seems rationale and undramatic.

Cyberpunk 2077 is being developed by the studio that brought players The Witcher series. On the back of its successful games, CD Projekt Red has built a reputation for detailed open-world games. The Witcher 3 was one of the most acclaimed games of this generation and many want to see a game of similar quality, with a dystopian future as the backdrop for the action.

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The reasoning behind the delay was discussed by Cory Barlog who is the creative director at SIE Santa Monica Studio. Barlog clarified that every game "runs badly before  [...] it is optimized for the hardware", he then went on to explain the logistics of a game reaching gold status. This message was in response to rumors that Cyberpunk 2077 had been delayed because of poor performance on the PS4 and Xbox One.  On the message board, Benzenzimmern of CD Projekt Red confirmed that the delay was due to optimization but that this was a normal process for almost all games. 

Cory Barlog hit the nail on the head. Of course we're optimizing for the XBox One, and for the Playstation, and for the PC, because that's what you do in the last stretches of game development. While the game is made, lots of things are unoptimized, because they're all in flux, changing, and still not finished.

So simple answers like "They delayed the game because of X" might make for a good rumor, but don't hold a lot of truth. There's always many reasons. Among them, and I can speak for myself, simply fixing bugs, so the game is as polished as possible. No hidden agendas, just working on making the game better. 

:)

There have been plenty of games already delayed this year, and while players want to see the titles as soon as possible if it is for the purposes of delivering an excellent product it is understandable. Games take years to make and it is to be expected that there will be delays in the process. What makes Cyberpunk 2077 a special case is that players have been looking forward to the game since it was announced seven years ago. This long wait added to CD Projekt Red's reputation, for creating quality games, has created a lot of anticipation.

While the result of the delays have yet to be seen, the excitement around the game will likely continue. There are claims that Cyberpunk 2077 should be released solely on the next generation of consoles but with a release date still set for this year, this may well damage sales figures. How the game progresses and how the strategy of its release changes are likely tied together and yet to be seen. While delays do allow for conjecture and fans to get worried, it would be a surprise if Cyberpunk 2077 isn't a beloved title when it is finally released.

Cyberpunk 2077 is currently in development and is set for release on September 17, 2020 for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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Source: Cyberpunk Forum